Blake Lively is requesting a federal judge to dismiss Justin Baldoni's latest attempt to have her lawsuit dismissed, as their legal battle over the film "It Ends With Us" inches closer to trial. Lively's legal team submitted a letter to Judge Lewis J. Liman in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York on Thursday, arguing that a recent appeals court decision supports continuing her case.
The legal team pointed to a ruling issued earlier this week by the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, which stated that a judge should not dismiss a lawsuit solely based on the complaint's wording if the case has already gathered evidence. Lively's lawyers further argued that dismissing the case at this stage would not be fair or efficient if the evidence gathered could support the claims.
Her legal team contends that the same principle applies here, stating that the court should evaluate the case using the evidence already obtained through discovery, including documents and testimony, rather than focusing only on the written allegations.
Lively's move comes as Baldoni, 42, and the other defendants requested the judge to throw out the claims using several legal requests. One of these is a summary judgment request, which asks the court to decide the case based on the evidence already collected rather than holding a full trial.
For those unfamiliar with this high-profile dispute, it officially began in December 2024 when Lively filed a lawsuit accusing her "It Ends With Us" director and costar Baldoni of sexual harassment and retaliation, allegations he has denied. The actress is seeking more than $160 million in damages.
Meanwhile, Baldoni's $400 million countersuit accusing Lively of extortion and defamation was dismissed by a judge. The two actors also participated in a court-ordered mediation session in New York on February 11th, spending about six hours with Magistrate Judge Sarah L. Cave. The meeting ended without a settlement.
Both Lively and Baldoni are expected to testify if the case proceeds to trial, which is currently scheduled to begin on May 18th. Judge Liman has not yet ruled on the defendants' request to dismiss the claims.
